Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

Page 29 text:

and South Poles will boast cities which are lighted and heated by nuclear fission. It is inevitable that some predic- tions will become realizations, and re - cent experiments have proved that atomic energy can be used by indus- try as a source of power. The first step in producing industrial power from nuclear fission is to possess a depositof controlled uranium fusually used in the form of small cylindersl which is called an atomic pile. The principle is to use the heat energy from the fission of the pile to heat a cooling agent, such as water, steam, or a liquid metal in a chain reactor unit. Then this coolant is passed through a heat exchanger, and the steam produced, which is under im- mense pressure, would be used to turn an ordinary turbine. The turbine, in turn, would provide the power for the machinery of a plant or generate elec- tricity to light cities. Possibly, just the heat from the fission would be used in its elementary state to heat the homes or factories of a metropo- lis. The most extensive project for research in atomic power is the recent constructionof the Knolls Laboratory in Schenectady, New York, which is being manned imder the supervision of the General Electric Company. This laboratory is experimenting on the use of atomic energy in generating elec- tricity, and the possibilities of atomic - powered marine engines. Since uranium is relatively the only abundant element that can main- tain a chain reaction, its use as a source of heat, light, and production power in out -of -the -way places where coal, oil, or waterpower are negligi- ble or where the power has to be con- ducted over along route is inevitable. It would be a simple matter to set up a generating plant anywhere, the atomic fuel is light and the transporta- tion problem is easily solved. As a result, atomic energy for production looks very attractive to Europe and countries where resources are few and limited. When atomic energy has applied its finishing touches to a peaceful world, the people will realize that their homeland has been completely revamped. The production centers like Pittsburgh and Birmingham will be decentralized, The inhabitants of the udecentralized' cities will move into the open plains instead of crowding together in the cities as they formerly have done. Because of the increased production power of atomic energy, the standard of living will become very high. The world will become smaller because of the ex- pansion of the cities. Unemployment might be thought to increase since atomic energy might displace man- power, but experts report that there will be sufficient work for everyone, the amount of each individual's work, however, will be less. Then too, the slack in employment which the atomic - powered factories will cause, will be taken up by the new and revolutionary industries born of nuclear fission. Although the maximum of this in- dustrial use of atomic energy is ex- pectation, research will soon prove it tobe the greatest thing the nation has experienced. Running parallel to the utilization Ofnuclear fission in power production 5

Page 28 text:

materials, while the money for work- ers' and scientists' wages will come from the colleges, universities, pri- vate enterprises, and other interested sources. At the present time, any individual can go to any one of these laboratories and work on atomic re- search after first being investigated by the government. Also, the Atomic Energy Commission has recently es- tablished a 51,000,000-a-year pro- gram, which is expected to run for five years, to send graduate students to universities all over the country for training in atomic research in medi- cine and biology. The whole object in expending all this money for research, is the improving of techniques for releasing and utilizing atomic energy for peacetime purposes. Atomic energy is the heat, light, and power emitted when a stray neu- tron hits an atom of the element urani- um, and splits the atom into particles, some of which are neutrons. The splitting of the atom is called afis- sion, and from this fission, the neu- trons which were released bounce away at aterrific speed and split every time, a chain reaction is thus devel- oped and an explosion occurs. The atomic bomb is just this type of chain reaction, but if the fission can be made to occur slowly, it can be controlled, and the heat and energy utilized. To slow down the fission, the uranium slugs or cylinders are packed in graphite which repels the passage of the neutrons, and the chain reaction is slowed down sufficiently so that an explosion does not occur, and only the heat from the fission is emitted. In view of utilizing atomic energy for peacetime purposes, there are 4 . three major problems and hundreds of minor ones which confront the sci- entist and engineer in their search for new uses of the energy. The first and greatest is the selection of structural materials which are capable of with- standing the intense heat evolved from the atomic fission. Second, is the de- velopment of methods of extracting the heatfrom the atomic system. The third andforemost, as a safety factor, is the protection of workers from the lethal gamma rays which are constant- ly given off by the fission. The only protection foreseen now is the con- struction orf huge lead or concrete shields, perhaps a foot thick, which would repel those deadly rays and insure safety to the workers. The hun- dreds of minor problems develop chiefly from these three major ones. As research continues and the solutions to the problems are found, the prophecies for the future of atomic energy will be based more on fact. The persons who are able to predict with the greatest accuracy are, of course, the scientists, and those on the Atomic Energy Commission guess that it will be five years before atomic energy can be used in peacetime in- dustry. Dr. Lyle B. Borst of the Brookhaven Laboratory predicts that in ten to twenty years atomic energy will compete with coal as an industrial fuel. Although atomic energy is es- timated to cost 2.696 more than coal, its heat energy is twenty-nine times greater than that of coal. Other sci- entists entertain the belief that in thirty to fifty years, atomic energy can supplement the resources of the world. It may not be too fantastic to contemplate that someday the North

Page 30 text:

is its future in engineering and trans- portation. Radio-active materials, or isotopes, which are elements of a sub- stance which have absorbed neutrons from reacting uranium, have been used in many phases of engineering. Radio-active materials are being used to estimate the amount of petro- leum present in a drilled well. The radio-active substance is drilled into the ground, then with the aid of an in- strument called a Geiger counter, the amount, the location, and the move- ments of underground liquids can be discovered. Radio-active isotopes have been introduced into metal parts in order to study and measure the amount of wear in ball -bearings, pistons, and sliding parts, with the conclusion, that better alloys which will resist certain types of wear can be produced. Radio-active materials have been used for safety methods in plants and factories. Radio-active substances are blown into the air and are used to study the harmful effects which the dusts of the factory have on the work- ers. By this method experimenters can determine the types of industrial wastes which are harmful to the body, and also those which cause tubercu- losis. An irradiated antimony rod has been used as a cheap X-ray to detect flaws in metals and metal parts. Al- though the radio-active rod is able to retain its radio-activity for only a short time, it is cheap and easily re- placed. As for the utilization of nuclear fission in transportation, its future looks dark and mmyielding. Atomic- powered vehicles cannot be expected 6 for a long time, because of the problem involved in surrounding an engine with a shield of lead or concrete. Automobile engines have to be com- pact, and an automobile with an atomic engine, would have to be of tremen- dous size to support the weight of such ashield. The same goes for the rail- way engine. The entire railway net- work of the country would have to change completely in order to support the weight and bulk of an atomic -pow- ered train. In preparation for atomic -jet pro- pulsion, the Army Air Force, the Na- tional Aeronautics Commission, and ten aviation companies have combined and have worked the mathematics for an atomic-powered airplane engine, but as yet, no drafting has been started on a motor design. In regard to atomic -powered en- gines, scientists are confronted at every t1u'n with the problem of size and weight because of the now-present necessity of a protective shield, but the scientists have one aspect in their favor--the fact that sea-water is an excellent shield for deadly gamma rays. Engineers hope that they will be able to design a ship, powered by nuclear fission, which will trail the engine under the surface. The power would turn an ordinary steam turbine which would provide power for the propeller, and the whole problem of the deadly rays would be eliminated by the presence of the surrounding sea water. Transportation from nu- clear fission, therefore, has its possi- bilities, but as yet not too many prob- abilities. Although the use of atomic energy in power production, in engineering,